Stapling device.



M.. n. HuTcHlsoN. STAPLING DEVICE.

PPLlc/mon man Aue.24. 1908. nENEwED MAR. 26.1911. 41,235,140.

Patented July 31, 1.917.

i .xfaxm I4: Will/11,11%;

- T1 7.- v l l NVENTR.

M. R. HucHlso'N. STAPLING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED ^ue.'24. i908. RENEwEn MAR. 2g. |9l1. v 1 ,235,140. Patented July 31, 1917,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- WTNESSES:

sirnrns MILLER REESEZHUTCHISON, GF EST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

aEiSSUt-D srerniie nevica.. j

1,235,1iiifl7. l Specification of @FFQEG Letters Patent.. imatented @lliily Sil, i915.,

.application led August 24, 1908, Serial No. 450,058. Renewed March 26, 1917. Serial No. 157,590.

To cZZwwm t may concern:

Be itlrnown that l, MILLER Rnnsn HUtroi-H- son, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of llfest Orange, in the county of Esser; and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Stapling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to machines of the type in which the staple -is formed,l

- driven, and clenched in one operation, the

various instruinentalities necessary for the purpose being preferably lcombined in a compact unitary device operated by an eX- ternally projecting lever. j

The staple is of the type comprising a body portion adapted to engage one surface' of the article to be stapled, al second portion extending through the article, and a third portion bent in opposition to said first mentioned portion, preferably so as to effect a clamping action upon the material and preferably so that the free end is bent toward the material, thereby clamping such material more tightly at the free end of the staple than at the bent portion thereof. ?refer ably, the staple has the form of an inverted il, the two free ends to be clenchedagainst the back vside of the material being preferably of an aggregate length not greater than, the length of the straight body portion which i engages the front side ofthe material.

@ne object of the invention has been to produce a bending and clenching mechanism whereby the free ends of the staple, when clenched, approach each other at arentrant angle, so that the clamping action is greater at said free ends than at' the bends.

Another object of my invention is to drive the staple through the material and progressively deflect and bend the free ends of the staple as theyV emerge at therbaclr side of the material,

Another object of my invention isto provide a. guide for the legs of the staple ei;- tending as nearly as possible down,to the surface of the material into which the staple is driven.

l Another object of my invention is to provide a groove in the driving member for engaging the body portion of the staple to assist in maintaining alinement thereof, particularly while being forced to final clenching position.

Another object of myinvention is to arrange the deflecting grooves in the, clenching anvil parallel with said groove in the driving member, to cooperate with and assist the latter in maintaining alinement during the time of application of the final clenching pressure. f j

Another obj ect of my .invention is to combine the staple driving mechanism with a staple forming mechanism in such manner that one member of the staple forming mechanism engages anrl holds the staple and is then given a movement of translation from the staple forming position into cooperative relation with the staple driving mechanism. Preferably said' staple forming member is provided with parallel grooves engaging the legs of the staple when formed, and these grooves, containing'the staple, are transferred to the driving mechanism and form the staple guides of the driving mechanism.

during the driving operation.

Another object of my invention is to pro; vide a 'parallel sided anvil/formed with an open ended slotand, cooperating therewith,

a bifurcated bending member provided with l opposite grooves adapted to engage, bend, and hold the staple when moved transversely of the open-ended slot in the anvil and to carry -said staple out of the open-ended slot free of the anvil and in to the above described guiding relation to the driving mechanism.

Another object of my invention has been to provide a reel for holding and supplying wire'and automatic mechanism lfor feeding the wire to the spool forming mechanism.

A. more specific object of invention has been to combine the above instrumentalities with a. single unitary actuating means, which is moved in one direction, preferably less than a semicircumference, to complete the operations of said mechanisms and which restores said mechanisms to the initial position by asimple reverse movement of said actuating means. The actuating means is preferably a 'shaft provided with projections relatively arranged circumferentially and radially so as to actuate said mechanisms successively at the desired times, and to hold them inthe desired stationary position at other times.

Having thus described some of the important features and objects of my invention,

will proceed to describe in det-ail a desirable embodiment of my invention, wherein the instrumentalities above described are combined in a unitary device of small size inclosed in a suitable case. This embodiment of my invention is shownlin the accompanying drawings,I in which- 4 `Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device with the top of the case removed.

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively side and front elevations.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the case on the line X, certain of the moving parts being shown in side elevation.

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are similar vertical sections showing the moving parts in the successive positions to which they are moved in forming and applying the staple.

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the clenching anvil.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the reel and feed for supplying the wire or other material used for the staples.

Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are details of the feeding device shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the device with the successive positions of 4the actuating lever diagrammatically indicated.

The case comprises a base 1, sides2, 3, and front 4. The top and rear of the case are closed in by the cover indicated at 5, Fig. 2. lVithin this case are contained the wire holding and feeding mechanism, staple 'forming mechanism, and the staple driving* and clenching mechanism, all cordinatedv and arranged to perform4 their various functions at the 'proper times. The various mechanisms are actuated by suitable power applying means, such asthe `hand lever'6, secured to cam sleeve 7, journaled on shaft 7, mounted in bearings 8, 9, andprovided with cams 10, 11, and 12. As shown, the cam 12 is formed integrally with the lever 6, as is also the thrust surface 13. These various operating surfaces 10, 11, 12, and 13 have suitably varied circumferential extent and radial projection, so that each operates its Vproper portion of the mechanism in its own propertimc.

In the form shown in the drawings, the

" staple driving and clenching mechanism is combined with a staple forming and feeding mechanism, and this, in turn, is provided with a blank supplying or feeding mechanism. The staple forming, driving, and clenching members comprise a clenching anvil 14, driver 15, staple forming anvil 16, and staple former 17. The staple former 17 cuts olf and bends the wire or other blank to form the staple and simultaneously engages and grips the legs of the staple. It then moves forward into coperativerelation with the driver 15 and clenchingfanvil 14, serving as ay guide for the legs ofthe staple during the driving operation. The

parts are Vadapted for such combined operathe slot 18 opens, is provided with a guide way 19 for the staple driver l5, so that when thestaple is moved out of the slot 18, it passes directly under the driver. The staple forming and transferring member which cooperates with the staple forming anvil, consists essentially of parallel surfaces 20, 20, adapted to move transversely of the slot 18, to bend the legs of the staple, and then longitudinally of said slot to bring the staple under the driver. The surfaces 20, 20 are provided each with a groove 21 extending in a direction transverse to the direction of the open ended slot 18 of the staple forming anvil 16. The open, lower end of the groove 21 correspondsfaccurately with the location of theblank when fed laterally across the` anvil throughr the passage 22 shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. Said passage is preferablyr formed in a bushing 23, formed of hardened steel and inset or screw threaded in' the sup.

` by a slot 26 in the rear and engaging a pivot 27, mounted in bearings 28, 29. A powerful spring 30, anchored at 3,1, fulcrumed at 32, and bearing upon the block 25 at 33, serves to maintain 25 normally in the upward p0- sition. In order to insure positive timing of the downward and forward movements of 25, the surface 34 for engagement with cam 12 and the correlative cam surfaces 35, 36

for engagement with cam 11, are all made Y v'integral with said block 25.

The staple driver 15 is normally held in retracted position; by means of spring 37. The driver face thereofis provided with a transverse groove 38 for engagement'with the head of the staple to assist in maintaining the latter in a vertical plane during the driving operation. The clenching' anvil is provided with a corresponding groove 39 in the same plane. This groove 39 is deepest at the ends, as shown in Fig. 8, where the legs of the staple first engage the clenching anvil when forced downwardly by the driver 15. From the ends, it curves progressively,

the material at the bend, but does force thefree ends of the staple inward, so that when` finally positioned, the staple clamps the material more tightly at. the center than at the bends. rlhis is especially important because the free ends are thus bent Vtoward the material and are thus less likely to catch other papers or objects whenin use.

The blanks .may be fed through the passage and across the anvil 16, by any desired feed mechanism, but l prefer to use automatically acting mechanism, suoli as is shown in the drawing, wherein 'a quantity of wire, i0, is stored on a spool .or reel 41, mounted on a pivot secured to the base 1. rhe reel is held in position and prevented from overrunning by va friction spring el?. bearing on the top of the spool and held in engagement therewith by a pin rlhe spring etis itself held from rotation by arranging the free end tls-Teef to project into engagement with the side of the case 2, as ated. A wire or other blank 40, passes from the reel through the curved guide 15,

secured to the wall of the case 2, preferably by brazing. Thence, the wire passes through a straightening device and an automatic gripping andfeeding mechanism. rthe wire straightening device consists of a. convex surface on block a6 and a concaved surface on block 47, adapted to bend the wirebeyond its limit of elasticity. The cooperating surfaces of L16 and 47 arey preferably grooved so as to prevent displacement of the wire. The feeding mechanism comprises slide 50, adapted to reciprocate in slot 51 in the front i of the c'ase.. IThe slide 50 is held in the retracted position under tension of spring 59., and is moved against the tension of said spring by a lever '53,forlred or slotted at the free end oet to engage pin or projection 55 on 50. he gripping device consists of `a stationary clamping member 57 and a cooperating pivoted pawl 58 tending toward said surface by reason of tension of spring G1. As shown, the stationary clamping member is formed as a U-sliaped projection from the reciprocating member 50, the pivot 59 for the pa'wl 5S being supported in the sides thereof. rThe pawl is provided with teeth 60 for engaging the wire #l0 and the toothed surface is pivoted slightly off center, so that the pawl normally grips the wire on the forward movement and slides over it on the rearward movement. The lever 53 for actuating the sliding member 50 in the forward direction is pivoted upon a screw 62 mounted in a boss 63, which is preferably solid with base 1.

The operation of the device is as follows: The handle l5 is initially vin the rearward position, indicated by the dotted line A, Fig. le. This corresponds to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the hand lever 6 is preferably normally7 forced back to this position by means of a powerful coiled spring 7 0. rlhe sheets of paper Orother material to be stapled are inserted in the slot 71, under the guides 72, with the particular point to be stapled located directly over the anvil 1st. The various'operations are then performed successively by forward movement of the hand lever 6. The first movement of the handle from the position indicated by dotted line A, Fig. 14C, to that indicated by dotted line'B, brings the parts to the position indicated in Fig. e of the drawings. During motion through this portion of the arc, the

face projection on cam 10 engages the lever 53, preferably through the medium of the antifriction roller 72. clearly in Fig'iO, this forces the free end of said lever in the direction of the staple forming mechanism, the Vpawl 5S gripping the wire 40 so that the free end of the wire vis fed across through the slot 1S in thestaple forming anvil 16, as indicated in the various figures. At the same time, an equal length of wire is thereby drawn from the reel d1 and dragged through the wire straightener 46, a7. At this time, cams 11 and 12 engage i.

the cam surface on block 25 along concentric portions of said cams 11 and 12, so that said block remains stationary in the uppermost' oosition shown in lfi'. 4 beine" held there l 7 as i :n by leal spring 30.

A further movement of the hand lever 6l to position indicated by dotted line C, Fig. 14.-, serves to cut off and form the length of wire which has been fed across the anvil 16.

The projecting portion of cam 12 engaging with' Bel, causes a sharp downward movement of the staple forming members 17, 17 ln its downward movement, the outer'edge lof one of the members 17, shears the wire where it projects from the face of the tool steel bushing 22.- rThe open end of the grooves 21 register exactly with the wire thus cut olf, and further downward moveis shown more ment operates to bend the wire' against the parallel sides of the anvil 1G to form the legs of the staple. The grooves 21 being straight' and being moved on the arc cfa l circle, might tend to have some shearing ac.-

tion on the staple wire were it not that the latter is free to slide along the upper surface of the anvil, thereby accommodating itself to and permitting whatever play is necessary to compensate for the differencel between the arc or curve on which the groove 21 moves and the straight line or tangent along which it is formed.

, which is then bearing on 36, is concentric ing the body A further movement of the handl lever to the position shown by the dotted line D, serves to bring the cam 11'into contact with cam surface 36, thereby forcing thev staplev forming member carrying the staple held in grooves 21, under the staple driving member 15, into the position shown in Fig. 6. It will be noted that during this part of the movement, the bearing surface of the cam 12 is concentric with theaxis, .so that the block 25 and its' bifurcations 17, 17, are securely held in the depressed position.

lVhen the parts have reached the position shown in Fig. 6, the cam 11 has rotated far enough -so that the portion of the surface with the axis, so that for the remaining por- -tion of the forward movement of the handle 6, the staple is securely held in position, the grooves 21 serving as guides for the legs of the staple duringthe driving and clenchingoperation. A further movement of the hand lever 6, to the position shown by dotted line E, causes the projection 13 to come in Contact withthe head of the driver 15, which is forced downwardly, the groove 38 engagportion or head of the staple. A further downward movement forces the staple downwardly along grooves v21, which serve as guides to support the staple against distortion during the driving and clenching operations. The legs are forced through the material and engage the respective ends of the groove 39. Continued downward movement of the plunger then operates to progressively bend the ends of the legs of the staple toward each other. At this point, the staple is securely held and prevented from movement out of the driving plane by the groove 38 on the driver, the side grooves 21 in the former, and the bottomjgroove 39 in the clenching anvil.

The groove 39 is preferably formed shallower at the center than at the ends, s0.that when clenched the-free ends of the staple approach each other at a rentrant angle clamping the material more firmly at the free ends than at theA bends, the ends of the grooves 39 vbeing deep, enough so that the bends can-not be made too sharp. As is seen by reference to Fig. 9, the clenching groove 39 .is preferably in the form of two oppositely extending -grooves formed yin sucha manner thattheir inner ends are out of alinement and overlap; such a construction permits of increased length of the clenched Aend portions of the -stapleand secures a clenching eect of maximum strength and eflicienc When the forward movement of the hand lever 6 has been completed and the staple formed, transferred, driven, and clenched, as above described, the handle is moved back to the initial position, either by the operator or automatically by action of spring 70.

This operates to restore all parts to the initial position, ready for the next stapling operation.

While I have herein fully shown and described, and have pointed'out iii the appended claims certain novel features' of construction, arrangement, and operation which' characterize my invention, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various omissions, substitutions, and changes inthe forms, proportions, sizes, and details of the device'and of its operation, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It will be obvious that where it is desirable to apply several staples simultaneously or at fixed distances from each other, a plurality of stapling devices may be employed and that if desired, these may all' be operated from the saine cam shaft.

-I claim:

1. In a stapling machine, a wire supplying mechanism, a staple cutting and forining mechanism having a rocking reciprocatory movement and a staple driving mechanism having a rectilinear reciprocating movement, in combination with a single rock shaft provided with means for effecting complete actuation of said mechanisms by a single movement in one direction of said shaft.

2. In a stapling machine, a -wire-supplying mechanism, staple-cutting-and forming mechanism having a rocking reciprocat'ory movement to cutand form the staple and a rectilinear reeiprocatory movement to transfer the staple to driving position, and mechanism for driving the staple in said position, in combination with a single rock-shaft provided with means for eHecting complete actuation of said mechanisms by a single movement in one direction of said shaft.

3. In a stapling machine, a wire supplying mechanism, a combined staple cutting and forming mechanism, and staple guiding rio and driving mechanism, in combination with a single rock shaft provided with means for tric portions arranged in permanent contact .with said forming mechanism so that the shaft moves the forming mechanism and at intervals holds said mechanism stationary, said staple driving mechanism being operatively connected with said'shaft only when in actual operation.

4. In a staplingmachin'e, ing mechanism, a combined staple cutting and forming mechanism, and staple guiding and driving mechanism, in combination with#` a' single rock shaft provided with means for effecting complete Vactuation of said mechanisms by asingle movement in one direction of said shaft, cam means having eccentric a wire supplynesaiao portions arranged in permanent Contact with -said forming mechanism so that the shaft staple driving mechanism being operatively connected with said shaft only when in actual operation, and independent means for returning said staple driving mechanism to normal position after each operation of the same.

5. In a stapling machine, a Wire supplying mechanism, staple cutting and forming mechanism, astationary anvil or forming block coperating With said forming mechanism, a staple guiding and driving mechaism, in combination With a single rock shaft provided With means for effecting complete actuation of said mechanisms in the order named to cut, form and drive a staple by a single movement in one direction of said shaft.

G. In a stapling machine, a Wire supplying mechanism, staple cutting and forming mechanism, a stationary anvil or forming block coopera-ting With said forming? meehanism, staple driving mechanism and mechanism for shifting the staple from the forming to the driving` position, in combination with a single rock shaft provided with means for effecting complete actuation of said mechanisms by a single movement in one direction of said shaft.

Sig

7. In a stapling machine, a wire supplying mechanism, staple cutting and forming mechanisms, staple driving mechanism, and means for shifting the forming mechanism to cause the same to convey the formed staple to the driving mechanism, said forming mechanism having a rocking movement around a pivot 1n forming ,the staple and having a shifting movement on its pivot to transfer the staple to the' driving mechanism, in combination with a single rock shaft provided with means for effecting complete actuation of said mechanisms by a single movement in one direction of said shaft.

8. In a stapling machine, a Wire feed mechanism, a stationary staple forming block and a staple driver, in combination with a staple former slidably pivoted in the frame of the machine, and means for giving said staple former a rocking reciprocatory movement to form the staple over said stationary forming block and a rectilinear reciprocatory movement to place the staple beneath the staple driver.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 29th day of July, A. D. 1908.

MILLER REESE HUTCHISON.

WVitnesses:

GEORGE C. DEAN, IRVING M. OBRIEGHT. 

